Thursday, September 28, 2017

Ah Tan Wings at Yishun Park Hawker Centre : Har Cheong Gai - must-try

Tan Yu Yan, 28, started this stall with her brother, Tan Wee Yang, 25 and they are one of the 25 recipients of Tiger Beer Street Food Support Fund. Their menu consists of mainly Har Cheong Gai (Prawn Paste Chicken) based on a recipe that they have spent more than a year in perfecting it. And, that was after experimented up to 800 variations of the recipe which demonstrated great dedication. Though the process was rather challenging but fruitful, it was a journey that filled with many ups and downs. They used to be at different pop-up events while hunting for a permanent location. They kept on improving their recipe and doing online marketing at the same time before finally settling at Yishun Park Hawker Centre. The entire process was quite a struggle. Their vision is simple, they want to introduce a shatteringly-crispy Har Cheong Gai that you will never forget.

We were there at about 6 pm when they just opened but there was already a short queue in front of the stall with some customers waiting for their takeaway orders. Other than Har Cheong Gai, there is also Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) on their menu. I was told to wait for a little while for my order to be taken as the gentleman at the counter was trying to clear some of the earlier orders. We decided to go with Ah Tan Atas Cutlet ($7.00) and Okonomiyaki ($8.50), an extra $1.00 is added as tray deposit. After payment, I was told to come back in about 10 to 15 minutes to collect it. It was ready and waited at the counter when I went back at about 15 minutes. I was asked even offered an extra saucer of chili.

The Ah Tan Atas Cutlet consists of 2 pieces of prawn paste chicken cutlets serving with shaker fries and salad. They marinated those chicken pieces in the har cheong gai paste for 2 days and coated in their specially made batter before deep-frying. How they managed in resulting such a crispy crust has remained to be their secret. The unparalleled crispy skin and the deep satisfaction when you crunch down on those chicken cutlets were just so unforgettable.

The Okonomiyaki is not commonly found in Singapore and I was glad that they served it too. It is grilled Japanese pancakes embedded with prawn and bacon then topped with bonito flakes and oko sauce. There is an option to add Tobiko (flying roe) and oozing torched cheese for $1.50. It was nice though not particularly memorable. I would rather skip this and go for the Har Cheong Gai.

They are currently short-handed and their operating hours will be from 6.00 pm till sold out for the time being. I asked about their operating hours on their Facebook which they replied and I did not quite expect to receive their private message to inform me of the changes. I was amazed by such personal touch.

They are doing their part to be a part of the street food culture in Singapore and hawker centre is where it started and where they will belong.

2 comments:

On the topic of hawker centers, I saw your article on the Old Woodlands Town Center. It will be closing for good in December. There are a couple of interesting stalls there that you might have missed out.

The 阿成煲靓汤 is cheap and good. Quickly sold out by 7pm. You might find his soup a bit sweet though. Go for the olive rice.

The satay stall next to the soup is okay too. His ketupat has a nice pandan scent to it.

JingJing dianxin sells pisang goreng but one must try its fried chicken wing. Its very crispy.

The yong tau fu with the black signboard sells a creamy laksa version, I find it better than Ye Lai Xiang Laksa.

On the same row as 阿成煲靓汤, at one corner is a dessert stall. The cheng teng is value for money.

Before you leave the place, head over to Sheng siong super market. Grab some of the otaks, its very fragrant.